Lacamas Park Lily Field
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Hikes to this location:
- Lacamas Creek Loop Hike (TH | <— —> | LOG)
- Weather forecast: NWS/NOAA
- Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
- Latitude, Longitude: 45.60241, -122.39751
- Elevation: 390 feet
Description
The city of Camas, Washington, was named for the camas plant. Camas was a very important crop in Native American traditional life. The roots were dug up, dried or cooked, and saved for food use and as sweeteners. The bulbs were usually harvested in summer, but the plants were sometimes marked during the spring bloom to avoid confusion (and possible fatalities) with a plant with very similar looking leaves, the highly toxic death camas. Every year, the people gathered in the meadows to harvest the larger bulbs only. Woodlands and brush were burned to create more expansive camas meadows, and camas plots, often assigned to particular families, were harvested on a rotational basis to allow plants to produce more bulbs.
Unfortunately, as the area around Camas was developed, most of the camas fields were plowed under and became cropland. Other areas were built upon or planted as orchards. Very few camas meadows survive, and without annual burning, woodlands have encroached where suburban development hasn't. Today, most of the remaining camas areas are parts of parks. The area signed as the "Lily Fields" is in the highest area of Lacamas Regional Park. While people rarely eat camas anymore, they do still gather amidst the purple flowers each April, now with cameras and sketch pads.
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Contributors
- Stevefromdodge (creator)